What do unusual animal friendships teach us?

The advent of YouTube and other Internet video sites has brought us a glut of cute animal clips. It's no longer enough to gush over adorable kittens. You have to see sweet little critters in unlikely tandems, like a cheetah cub that has become best friends with a Labrador retriever.

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Posted Nov. 7, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Posted Nov. 7, 2012 at 12:01 AM

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The advent of YouTube and other Internet video sites has brought us a glut of cute animal clips. It's no longer enough to gush over adorable kittens. You have to see sweet little critters in unlikely tandems, like a cheetah cub that has become best friends with a Labrador retriever.

"Nature" (8 p.m., PBS) presents "Animal Odd Couples." This being public television, it's not enough to show such cute combinations. We have to ask how and why young lions get along with coyotes. Or why a photographer's dog befriended an orphaned fawn in the wild. What does this say about animal cognition? Can critters feel something close to empathy with creatures they might just as well be chasing, hunting or devouring?

Among those cited here are Temple Grandin, famed animal behavior expert (and subject of a superb HBO film biography, starring Claire Danes). She thinks that research is beginning to show us a lot more about the emotional life of animals. Or, as she puts it, "I think scientists are going to prove that little old ladies in tennis shoes who say that little Fifi really can think are right."

— Finalists perform live on "The X Factor" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14), now in head-to-head competition with "The Voice" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG), currently in the second stage of its live playoffs. Although it was recently renewed for a third season, "The X Factor" has seen its audience dwindle. "The Voice" has been averaging more viewers and has been a nice surprise for NBC, long stuck in a ratings drought. And on a less-technical level, "The Voice" is just a lot more fun to watch.

— "NOVA" (9 p.m., PBS) presents "Mystery of Easter Island," and explores the secrets behind the 900 giant statues, which weigh as much as 86 tons, found at the remote Pacific location. Scientists have been scratching their heads about their origins since Europeans stumbled upon them in 1722. "Mystery" trots out a new theory and puts it to the test, using a replica statue weighing "only" 15 tons.

— After his arrest on murder charges, Oliver wants Laurel to act as his attorney on "Arrow" (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).

— The new series "LOLwork" (11 p.m., Bravo) steps inside the office of an Internet comedy publisher that attracts millions of views with purposefully inept captions attached to — what else? Cute pictures of pets and animals.